Dear Prince Merek,
I have a reason why you have fallen ill for all these years and the truth is going to hurt you deeply. I have kept it a secret because I know you are the next to wear the crown your father wears. If I were to tell the truth, King Athalos will surely kill you.
I never wanted you to be betrayed by my husband and I could never forgive myself if you were brutally murdered.
I know that what I am telling you makes no sense, but I have to admit that I had an affair a very long time ago, the summer before you were born. I found myself in a dragon’s lair in which I found Maelyss. Although many think he is a dragon who eats humans, this is as far from the truth as it can be. Maelyss is a shape-shifter. This is why he is never caught when the King sends men to hunt him.
I loved Maelyss more than anything in the world, but my father promised Athalos that I would marry him. Although I tried to run away, his men found me and brought me back here. I have since learned to love King Athalos. That however doesn’t matter.
I looked upon the kingdom every day and knew that you did not belong here with the rest of the dragon hunters. You belong with your real father who can teach you how to tame your inner dragon. He can teach you to be a human when you must, but also to fly above the clouds to get away from danger.
Now that you are older, I must tell you the secret which will change your whole life. This is not because I wish to finally release my guilt, but because if you do not control yourself, you will find yourself in great danger.
You are the next to the crown unless your secret is found out. King Athalos hates dragons and has no problem killing them. Your brothers, Prince Rowan, Prince Terrain and Prince Sadon hate them as well and have made a name for killing them.
I do reassure you that I had good intentions of hiding all this from you. I may not have been as innocent as you thought, but I am enslaved in this kingdom. I know what the evil King Athalos has done and what he spreads. I know how he kills dragons. There is never to be a living dragon in his kingdom. Perhaps our kingdom is meant for doom, but you must find your own place in this world. You have to channel your inner dragon when you are ready, but hide it the rest of the time.
I have asked many shape shifters, oracles as well as wizards, about your gift. It is true that within your veins, you do carry Maelyss’s blood as a shape-shifting dragon. I have tried to protect your heart to be untainted and pure, since a dragon can be easily influenced with the world around him. If your heart is to be tainted and show signs of aggression, you will become a dark and blackened dragon, seeking harm to others.
There is also one other thing you must know. Your first son will be born as a dragon-shifter like you are. You will pass this gene on to him. It is in both of you that a prophecy lies in which can destroy King Athalos and his need to kill the dragons.
The world is at your feet and your wings. Be warned who you show your secret to, as well as finding a mate. Your bride must be willing to die for her child if it is necessary and hide his secret the way I hid it for you.
A knock on the door spooked me as I quickly folded up the paper and placed it in a book, hidden.
“Come in!” I called.
“There you are, Merek! Father has been looking everywhere for you! He wishes to speak to you. It sounds pretty important,” my brother, Prince Rowan stated.
All these years, I thought Prince Rowan and I looked nothing alike. I never had the thrill or passion to kill a dragon and it often sickened me to think that my brothers tried hard to kill the dragons. After reading my mother’s letter, I understood why that was.
“What is it that Father wants to talk to me about?” I asked as I followed Rowan down the corridor.
“What do you think Father wants to talk to you about? You are in your twenties, Merek! It is time for you to court a very nice woman and to marry her. All we hear is how you haven’t even tried to court a woman yet,” Rowan added.
“Hasn’t anyone thought it is just because I haven’t met the right girl yet?” I asked.
My mother’s words kept echoing in my head as I read them from her letter. I was sure that there was truth behind them if she sought the answers from shape-shifters, oracles and wizards. I was also sure that she had done this on her travels when she visited her parents, the king and queen of the Sarvon Isle.
Somewhere along the way, I was sure she had her own connections that weren’t associated with King Athalos. No one would tell her secret to anyone around here and she wouldn’t have to worry about it getting back.
Although many have argued and tried to point out that shape-shifters had been made up by a story teller, I hated to tell them that they were true. I was just hoping that somehow, I could escape from the kingdom before anyone found out my secret. I was also hoping that Father would stop pressuring me to get married, especially now.
“Merek, you know if you don’t get married that the royal bloodline disappears. Can you imagine a life without any princesses and princes?
“How would you be able to tell commoners from the royal blood? It is time for you to settle down and have children!” Rowan pointed out as we headed to the king’s study.
“I can’t even fathom the day we do not have any more princesses and princes. I guess it truly is time to find myself a bride.”
“Who knows, that day in which you finally get married, Terrain, Sadon and I might just slay Maelyss in your honor!”
My heart dropped to the floor. How words could suddenly change all perspectives when you find out that you are Maelyss’s birth child.
“There will be no fighting when I get married. I am tired of having to wait for all three of you before I can sit down and eat,” I said with a groan of displeasure.
“One day, the world is going to be a different place. Think of how everything would change with Maelyss out of the world, though. Our children wouldn’t have to worry about dragons at all.
“Can you not see it? At first it is the ridding of the dragons and then it will be some other being or creature we are after. By the time our children grow up, the thought that dragons actually existed will only be in stories.
“The magic in which we live will be gone. It will be a world where no magic exists at all. Can you imagine humans walking around blind to magic all together and the only dragons are those trapped in paper?”
I knew no one had thought of that and I also knew that I touched a nerve with my brother.
“Mother always stated you were the caring one of us. I see now that your act is not that of a strong king. I am incredibly worried for our kingdom.”
“Don’t even think about it. What you think is laughable now, what will prevail is this kingdom’s strength. How many kingdoms, instead of banning these creatures, had made them allies? None of the kingdoms have, and I will be the first, which will allow us to have the upper hand in battles.”
At the moment, I had more than enough going on. I did not need my brother to try to challenge me. Doubt seemed to fill his body as I refused to battle and kill all the creatures who threatened my father. At first, maybe he thought I was joking, but when I did not laugh I could see the concerned look on his face.
I could not sit back and watch them kill my birth father and the rest of my family. It wasn’t something I could explain to Rowan.
I knew he would run off immediately and tell my father.
“Do you know why Father hates dragons?” Rowan finally asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t believe that Father ever told me why he despises dragons so much.”
I was wishing that Rowan and I weren’t having this conversation, but it seemed as if it was one that I wouldn’t be able to get out of without looking suspicious.
“Father told me a story a long time ago, when you were off on your first assignment and I was still young enough to sit on his knee. He told me that a century before when his grandfather was a boy that an oracle told him that he would be in love with a woman who would hide a nasty secret.
“Her heart belonged to a dragon and never held the king’s love. Of course, as fate would have it, a love child would be born who at any given moment would overthrow the king. It is said if he doesn’t kill each of the dragons’ offspring, one will surely kill him. You must realize a life is at stake.”
Rowan was right, a life was at stake. The life at stake, though, wasn’t our father’s life, it was mine. If Rowan, my brothers or my father, knew about me, I was sure I would be slaughtered.
How long had it been since this prophecy was first told?
It had to be over a hundred years old, and although I would like to argue how it would never come true, here I was. I was the dragon child. Although the prophecy left out that the dragon child would be a shape shifter between human and dragon. Of course, there was a chance that the prophecy didn’t speak of those little details.
I tried hard not to groan as the large wooden doors to the study opened. I looked at my father who was speaking with Lord Crewe, my uncle.
“I haven’t the slightest fancy why Merek hasn’t married. My eldest son is driving me crazy.”
I tried hard not to roll my eyes. My father seemed to think a proper king had to be married. I wasn’t thrilled with any of this at all.
My father turned and looked at Rowan and myself, who stood in the door way. “I see you found your brother. Thank you, Rowan, for bringing Merek,” King Athalos said.
Rowan nodded and although I knew he wanted to be part of the conversation, he took our father’s hint and left.
“Merek, my oldest child, I think it is time for us to talk. I know it isn’t something you want to hear, but it is time for you to find a wife and get married. A king is only proper when he has a queen to join him on the battlefield. You are the next to the throne, Merek, but it seems you have lost all interest in getting married anytime soon.”
“What is the rush?”
“Since your turn to take the crown is nearing, it is time for you to know the truth about the crown and the dangers it holds. A long time ago, my grandfather was told about a prophecy that states the young king’s bride wasn’t of the faithful type. The child was brought into this world half dragon and half human.
“That young prince would soon bring a child into this world which would carry his own demon blood. It would be at the claws of the grandson that the king would die.
“I know that it sounds strange, but if you hurry up and get married, we can at least ban the dragons together and go on long hunts. After all, you won’t be studying so much. I always told your mother that you would become the scholar out of the family, especially the way you studied.”
I tried hard to act normal instead of afraid of the fact that I was the dragon and it would be my son that would be killing King Athalos.
I nodded as I looked at my father. As long as my secret was safe for now, it would be best to just leave and disappear.
“I hate to say this, but any child that is part dragon is one that must be killed. I know it is probably cold-hearted to say this, but I can’t take a chance of being killed by a traitor. I don’t want to even imagine that one of my sons could possibly be a dragon. I guess that is why it is important for you to get married. You must be careful, but you are also running out of time.”
“What do you mean I am running out of time?”
It was as if this whole day seemed to be showing me how my whole life had changed. I thought for sure that my life was secured. I knew I would become king and I knew one day I would have princesses and princes running around in the castle.
I never realized that I would be hiding a secret that could end my life or my child’s life. It was as if everything was going fine and suddenly I had to pretend it was going fine.
The only good thing at the moment was the fact that none of them knew that I was Maelyss’s real son. My son would be the one who killed King Athalos in the prophecy, which meant they would kill me all the same.
I had'nt heard about the prophecy until it was too late. There was no way I could move away after my studies and pretend that I wanted to go on an adventure.
My mother decided to tell me just as I was getting ready to take the crown. It was as if she understood completely what she had done, but in the same breath, she had to warn me that my life was in great danger if King Athalos or any of the other royal subjects found out.
“I haven’t told you, as you were doing your studies, that we have successfully conquered four more kingdoms, which strengthens this one. Each of my sons will have their own kingdom, but my eldest son will also have controlling power of this kingdom. This means there are new places to which we have not yet ventured.”
Although there were new lands, nothing seemed to take away the sinking feeling within my soul. The ‘new’ kingdoms couldn’t take away the fact I was a dragon shape-shifter and I had to hide it if I enjoyed living. Everything that led up to my discussion with my father wasn’t just confusing, but it opened my eyes.
I realized that I was turning more and more into someone and I wasn’t sure who I was. I understood why I felt as if I didn’t fit in with my brothers.
I also fully understood where King Athalos stood on the whole subject and the prophecy that he took to heart. Although he thought that it would be my son who would have the child that was part dragon, he still admitted strongly that he would kill any dragon.
Perhaps the prophecy was just a story that should have never been told. I did know that everything seemed to be happening all at once.
“You were speaking of having to get married before a certain time. How long do I have?”
“You have exactly thirty nights before we choose a bride for you. There is no way we are allowing the prophecy to come true. You must marry a woman with royal blood,” King Athalos replied.
Lord Crewe, my uncle, looked over at me. “We are sorry to have to hide this from you, but we thought it would be best you didn’t worry until you were ready to take over the kingdom.”
My mind was indeed locked on the prophecy. It was something that I wasn’t sure how to deal with at the moment. I knew if I had a son and there was any evidence of him being a dragon that King Athalos would have him killed.
I understood in several ways why my mother had covered for me my whole life. She hid my identity out of love, although at the moment, she put me in a very hard spot. I felt as if I was being torn with what King Athalos expected from me and my true identity.
I never pictured that my mother, Queen Bethany, had ever hid this from me. I guess that explained why she used to tell my father strange reasons why I would draw pictures of dragons.
Now, I wanted to go in the attic and go through my belongings of when I was a child.
I really desired to speak with my mother, but it seemed at the moment she was traveling to visit her family on the Sarvon Isle. There were the moments in my life where she was traveling that the king pretended she had left completely and was gone.
She was only a memory that was fading away, although she was fine and would be returning in two weeks.
My uncle, Lord Crewe, was a thin man who looked a lot like my three other brothers. He had the shaggy style blond hair, except his had silver and white streaks in it. He always seemed to be scowling. He had a scar that went from his eyebrow straight down his cheek and his dark eyes were filled with hate.
Rowan once told me that Lord Crewe had gotten in a fight with a man in the pub. As the fight got heated, the man turned into a dragon. With one claw, he marked Lord Crewe, giving him a scar as a reminder of how he lost.
“Stop dragging your feet about marriage, Merek! There is a lot to do in a kingdom that a queen would do.” Lord Crewe snarled.
I let out a sigh. “I understand, Lord Crewe. I just want the right woman to become my wife.”
“Time is a virtue, Merek. In thirty days you will be moving to the new castle,” King Athalos pointed out.
“I will begin to sort through things that I would like to take with me. If anyone asks where I will be, I will be in the attic.”
King Athalos sighed. “Can you at least pay attention for a second, Merek? The most important thing here is getting you married.”
I nodded. “I understand, Father.”
“There is nothing in those boxes that are so important compared to courting a woman.”
“I still don’t fully understand why I have to be married before I move to the new kingdom. I honestly thought I was taking over this Kingdom when you were no longer able to fulfill the duty as king.”
“This is why I waited to tell you. I wanted to surprise you; you get both my kingdom as well as your own.”
I already had a bad feeling that with Rowan, Terrain, and Sadon being kings of their own kingdoms, I could sense a war in the making. My brothers were quite greedy when it came to the power and control they wished to have. I could care less. All of my life, I had used clout and arrogance when I didn’t get my way.
I could always ask people if they knew who I was and I would inform them that I was Prince Merek. Of course, this was short-lived. Now, my pompous brothers, whose cold hearts seemed to be in love with killing everything they didn’t like, would be ruling as well. This didn’t make me feel happy at all.
“I want you to go out and find yourself a princess or a lady you can court. You don’t need to pack your things. There will be enough time for that later. We will have everyone help you and the carriages will bring you to the castle.”
“Father, today I just want to stay here.”
“For heaven sake, listen to yourself! You need a wife and that is the final answer! I expect you to start finding one and not to hang around the castle or the grounds. You can’t just hire someone to marry you. There is no way I am going to allow you to stay here until you find yourself a good wife. I am telling you, as the king, to go find a wife and that is an order.”
“What would Mother say?”
“Your mother isn’t here right now! Do you see her here? I didn’t think you did! Your mother isn’t your only parent! If the queen was here, I would surely have no problem blaming your actions on her. I knew what trouble we were in once you started to grow as a child.
“It seemed pointless to keep explaining everything to you, but she told me you would grow out of it. You haven’t grown out of it and I am stuck with a son who refuses to get married.”
“I didn’t ask for you to order me to get married. I am sure, with time, I would find the right girl and marry her.”
“If that was true, Merek, then you would have gotten married a long time ago. You are twenty-five years old. I think it is time for you to face responsibilities. It is time for you to face the fact that you must get married and start to rule your own kingdom.”
The words that King Athalos said seemed to stab at me. I knew that it was true, that it was time for me to marry. I also knew it was hard at the moment to live my life with such a secret that could end it in a matter of seconds.
My mother always tried to tell me that the king loved me, but I never could believe the truth behind it. I always saw him favoring the other three. I was just the oldest one.
Of course, this argument was one that I was going to lose. I always got in fights with King Athalos, but I could never win. He always pointed out to anyone who actually listened that I was too much like my mother. I was a “thinker” and he didn’t like that about me. I fought in battles before, among my brothers, but there was something about me that was different. I wasn’t like my brothers; they would declare war on a falling leaf if it startled them.